The trend of online ordering has made restaurants retake the stands when it comes to joining hands with third-party food delivery platforms. While developing a platform is feasible for a large chain like Domino’s Pizza or McDonald’s, a medium or small scale restaurant cannot dedicate a massive sum to take the business online. Food delivery apps like UberEats, Deliveroo, etc., breed on this idea and successfully bridge the gap between restaurants and customers.

According to App Annie, an average smartphone user has 60-90 apps installed on their smartphones. While that may sound a staggering number, they are using at most on a daily basis. Social media apps like WhatsApp, Facebook, etc., are inevitable, making them indispensable in everyday usage. A food delivery app’s success lies in finding a place among those 9 daily usage apps.

Suppose you’re an entrepreneur or a restaurant owner aspiring to be part of the flourishing food delivery sector. In that case, you need to come up with strategies that help you stay on customers’ radar. This blog focuses on those techniques that’ll help a trendsetting UberEats clone to gain an irreplaceable place among the audience. Let’s dive straight in.

Evolving with Customer Trends 

One simple rule to success – deliver what the customers require. It is pointless to offer those services that the customers in your locality do not need. Consumer behavior is an ever-changing characteristic that an entrepreneur has to keep an eye on. To help you understand consumer behavior, data can come in handy. Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) are making the impossible possible in this digital era – predicting the future.

Real-time analytics on variable consumer data can open the floodgates for customer preferences, current trends, and your key areas of improvement. It is a well-known fact that science helps in defying instincts with proof. Data analysis is a unique asset branching out from science that can help you evolve with customer trends without any hassle. You don’t need a stalwart technical team to win the battle of food delivery apps for you. Tons of data and a data analyst can do the trick without any fuss!

Customer feedback is crucial in every aspect 

One of the most successful marketing techniques is the word of mouth marketing. This marketing strategy’s success rate is higher than others because customers believe what other customers have to say rather than suppliers boasting about their products. Ratings and reviews play a crucial role in every aspect. For example, there are four stakeholders involved in a food delivery app. They include,

  • Platform owner
  • Restaurant owner
  • Delivery executive
  • Customer

Keeping service quality in check is the role of a platform owner (sometimes admin). Customer ratings are a great way to assess if the services are meeting the quality standards. The platform owner can take remedial action in a flash.

Restaurants tend to increase their sales on any given day. A poor customer rating will hamper other customers’ trust in ordering from the restaurant. Hence, restaurants can identify areas of improvement and can boost their sales substantially.

From a customer perspective, one has to choose from an array of restaurants out there. Ratings and reviews can significantly come in handy while ordering, eliminating the fear factor.

According to a study by TripAdvisor, almost 94% of the US diners look for online reviews before ordering from a restaurant.

Do not hesitate to spend on Marketing 

To gain a place in customers’ smartphones, you need to be visible to the audience. Unless and until you focus on marketing your food delivery application, success will remain a distant fruit. Among the various marketing strategies out there, let’s discuss some of the most common and successful ones.

  • Omnichannel marketing: Accessibility to the platform determines your performance at the end of the day. Enabling people to order via numerous channels like PCs, smartphones, tablets, etc., can boost sales. Besides, leveraging social media proves worthy as an average Internet user spends almost 2 hrs 20 mins on social media platforms on a daily basis. With a minimum budget, you can enhance your visibility, paving the way for enhanced sales.
  • Discount marketing: Nothing can draw customer attention than a slash in prices. Discounts are a great way to let the world (target audience) know that they can order their favorite meal at reduced prices. Introducing promo codes, the refer and earn option, etc., are all marketing techniques that can turn the wind towards a particular food delivery platform.

Have a robust delivery chain 

Delivery time is one factor that can disrupt your entire empire single-handedly. To cope with customers’ demands, it is better to have a robust delivery chain to deliver food orders at the earliest. According to a recent study, almost 60% of the consumers opined delivery speed to be the deciding factor in choosing a food delivery platform.

Hiring delivery workers on the ‘gig’ economy can eliminate the need to spend a dedicated budget for the delivery team. At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of a food delivery platform to promise a perfect delivery time and sticking to it no matter what.

Compete against the giants in the market 

Instead of fighting for a place with local rivals, have a global approach when it comes to competition. By going against market leaders, you get to improve way better and identify areas of improvement regularly. Besides, the giants in the market have already made a positive impact on the audience. By upgrading your services based on your competitors, you gain an edge that spins the difference between success and failure.

For example, let’s assume your market leader in the current scenario is UberEats. Now, all that you have to do is conduct a competitor analysis on UberEats to identify areas that the platform is lacking. By specifically focusing on those areas, you can gain an instant positive reception among the audience, making the process much more comfortable.

Implement customer engagement tools 

Your platform must engage customers, driving them towards food ordering. Creating a visual appeal tops the charts when it comes to customer engagement. Hence, while designing the app’s framework, ensure that it is aesthetically pleasing.

Having high-quality images of food products is an excellent customer engagement strategy that can help customers in visualization. According to a recent study, photos create an impact on 60% of the customers. Having in-built chat support can help in resolving customer queries. Besides, implementing quick tour settings for first-time users can help them familiarize themselves with the platform and its functionalities.

Developing the latest food delivery app 

With advancements in modern technology, numerous entrepreneurs are venturing into the digital space of reaching out to customers. A significant extent of your platform’s success depends on its technology and functionalities. A seamless interface, unique features, and efficient back-end contribute to the app’s success among the audience. Hence, it is vital to choose the right app development company for developing your platform.

With clone apps reducing your budget for app development substantially, it is crucial to develop a top-notch UberEats clone that is feature-filled, and according to the latest tech-stack. Compare and analyze scripts from numerous companies before you settle for your best-suited one.

Conclusion, 

With COVID-19 fueling the need for food delivery platforms, it is high time entrepreneurs capitalize on the situation wisely. While developing and introducing the app is easier, making it successful takes a lot of strategies and insights from the entrepreneur’s side. Implement these 7 strategies to stand apart from the rest of the apps. By doing so, you can gain instant traction with an UberEats clone, ensuring your ROI and success in the long run. Reach out to an app development company, share your ideas, make the best use of these strategies, and launch your platform right away.